TY - JOUR

T1 - Personality Traits in Huntington's Disease

T2 - An Exploratory Study of Gene Expansion Carriers and Non-Carriers

AU - Larsen, Ida Unmack

AU - Mortensen, Erik Lykke

AU - Vinther-Jensen, Tua

AU - Nielsen, Jørgen Erik

AU - Knudsen, Gitte Moos

AU - Vogel, Asmus

PY - 2016/12

Y1 - 2016/12

N2 - Huntington's disease (HD) is associated with risk for developing psychiatric symptoms. Vulnerability or resilience to psychiatric symptoms may be associated with personality traits. This exploratory study, aimed to investigate personality traits in a large cohort of HD carriers and at risk gene-expansion negative individuals (HD non-carriers), exploring whether carrying the HD gene or growing up in an HD family influences personality traits. Forty-seven HD carriers, Thirty-nine HD non-carriers, and 121 healthy controls answered the Danish version of the revised NEO personality inventory. Comparisons between HD carriers and HD non-carriers were mostly non-significant but the combined group of HD carriers and non-carriers showed significantly higher scores on the facets: “hostility,” “assertiveness,” and “activity” and on the trait “Conscientiousness” relative to controls, “Conscientiousness” have been associated with resilience to psychiatric symptoms. Twelve HD carriers and non-carriers were classified as depressed and showed significantly lower scores on “Extraversion” and “Conscientiousness” and significantly higher scores on “Neuroticism,” which are associated with vulnerability to psychiatric symptoms. Our findings suggest that, there is no direct effect of the HD gene on personality traits, but that personality assessment may be relevant to use when identifying individuals from HD families who are vulnerable to develop psychiatric symptoms.

AB - Huntington's disease (HD) is associated with risk for developing psychiatric symptoms. Vulnerability or resilience to psychiatric symptoms may be associated with personality traits. This exploratory study, aimed to investigate personality traits in a large cohort of HD carriers and at risk gene-expansion negative individuals (HD non-carriers), exploring whether carrying the HD gene or growing up in an HD family influences personality traits. Forty-seven HD carriers, Thirty-nine HD non-carriers, and 121 healthy controls answered the Danish version of the revised NEO personality inventory. Comparisons between HD carriers and HD non-carriers were mostly non-significant but the combined group of HD carriers and non-carriers showed significantly higher scores on the facets: “hostility,” “assertiveness,” and “activity” and on the trait “Conscientiousness” relative to controls, “Conscientiousness” have been associated with resilience to psychiatric symptoms. Twelve HD carriers and non-carriers were classified as depressed and showed significantly lower scores on “Extraversion” and “Conscientiousness” and significantly higher scores on “Neuroticism,” which are associated with vulnerability to psychiatric symptoms. Our findings suggest that, there is no direct effect of the HD gene on personality traits, but that personality assessment may be relevant to use when identifying individuals from HD families who are vulnerable to develop psychiatric symptoms.

KW - Huntington's disease

KW - NEO-PI-R

KW - personality

KW - personality traits

U2 - 10.1002/ajmg.b.32501

DO - 10.1002/ajmg.b.32501

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 27714917

VL - 171

SP - 1153

EP - 1160

JO - American Journal of Medical Genetics. Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics

JF - American Journal of Medical Genetics. Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics

SN - 1552-4841

IS - 8

ER -